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The B-chromosome system of myrmeleotettix maculatus (Thunb.)

I. The mechanics

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Summary

  1. 1.

    One or two B-chromosomes have been found in male individuals from three out of ten natural populations of Myrmeleotettix maculatus. All the B-containing populations occur in the southern half of Great Britain.

  2. 2.

    The B-chromosomes are of two morphological types. These, however, are at least partially homologous since they pair and form chiasma when present in the same individual. This, coupled with the fact that individual B-chromosomes show extensive inter-arm pairing and exchange when present as univalents, leads us to the conclusion that they are iso-chromosome derivatives related to one another by pericentric inversion.

  3. 3.

    The B-chromosomes are mitotically stable and, though their meiotic anaphase behaviour is subject to variation, we have no evidence suggesting that they possess any mechanism of either accumulation or elimination, at least on the male side.

  4. 4.

    The presence of B-chromosomes has a striking influence on the process by which chiasma formation is regulated. This influence is revealed by an increase in both the frequency and the variance of the chiasmata formed in the B as compared to the non-B containing members of the same population. In 1963 these increases were both statistically significant. In 1964 they were not, though, despite the lack of statistical significance, the trend to increase was still maintained. In consequence the chiasma frequency of B-containing populations is raised by the B-containing individuals in such populations to the level found in the non-B containing populations of M. maculatus which we have examined.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, University of Birmingham, Great Britain

    B. John & G. M. Hewitt

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  1. B. John
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  2. G. M. Hewitt
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John, B., Hewitt, G.M. The B-chromosome system of myrmeleotettix maculatus (Thunb.). Chromosoma 16, 548–578 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00326973

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00326973

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